Building A Foundation of Executive Wellness

When I turned 62 years old, I came out of a short-lived retirement to work for Intermountain Dixie Regional Medical Center raising money to fund the 500,000-square-foot River Road Campus expansion.

For two years, I watched from my office window as construction began. It seemed to take forever before I saw the steel rising above the ground. So much time was spent digging below the surface driving pylons deep into the earth to create a support system to form a rock-solid foundation. This was serious stuff and there was no room for error, knowing that these buildings would someday house life-saving care for decades to come.

Now at the age of 66, I find myself working full time at the Intermountain LiVe Well Center where I’m helping to build foundations of a different sort. I now educate local executives on how they can build a solid foundation of wellness for their professional and personal lives. It’s one in which they can look, act and feel functionally younger and more productive as they enter the pinnacles of their careers. And who better to share that with them than someone who for the past five years has been a client and student of the LiVe Well Center—actively working on building his own foundation for health and fitness during the last third of his life.

Since beginning my fitness experience at the LiVe Well Center, I’ve learned how men and women who have endured a 24/7 executive work style can form a strong and more fit foundation to resist the decay of “old age.” It’s decay, not aging, that can rob us from enjoying the physical and mental blessings of life in our 60s, 70s and 80s.

It was quite an eye opener when, for the first time, I learned I could eliminate—not just delay, but eliminate—70 percent of all illnesses and accidents those over the age of 65 have a propensity to experience. I just needed to follow the lessons LiVe Well has to teach.

Executives are busy people. The success of their businesses and ventures depends upon their leadership and expertise. If a CEO or partner unexpectedly goes down due to an unforeseen illness, the impact upon the business can be devastating. Without advanced preparation, the loss of a “key executive” can negatively impact an organization for months while they await his or her hopeful return.

It’s for this reason that the Intermountain LiVe Well Center in St George now offers a service for local executives known as the Executive Health Exam (EHE). The EHE has been available at Intermountain for the past 30 years in Salt Lake City. As such, it has been tried and tested to produce the kind of results an executive would expect by going to the Mayo or Cleveland Clinics—the gold standard for executive physicals.

The Executive Health Exam in St. George is a six-hour, head-to-toe, highly comprehensive and confidential medical exam that leaves no stone unturned. You’ll spend two hours with a board-certified internist reviewing your health history and discussing any aches, pains or healthcare concerns you may be experiencing. Over two hours will also be spent with one of our certified exercise physiologists and an additional 90-minutes with a certified dietitian.

During the six-hour exam you’ll experience the following:

A complete physical exam with results explained to you by the physician during the exam in an unhurried manner.

A complete battery of blood tests with the results explained the same day.

Diagnostic treadmill exercise EKG test.

Orthopedic evaluation (conducted by our exercise physiologist) of your skeletal and muscular status, from posture to strength to flexibility, and a personal exercise prescription and demonstration designed specifically for your needs.

Scientific determination (RMR testing) of your caloric needs and diet. Our registered dietitian will analyze your lab results, body measurements and current diet, making recommendations for a personalized nutrition program and unraveling conflicting reports about what we should and should not eat.

A thorough review of the day’s results, a copy of all tests and recommendations, and our book “An Owner’s Manual for the Human Body.”

Three monthly follow up calls and health coaching sessions to insure your understanding and practice of your health, fitness and eating strategies. Plus, you’ll receive a month of free fitness classes in the LiVe Well gym.

And lastly, peace of mind knowing that you’re taking control of your future health.

The Executive Health Exam is just the start to what we call your Lifetime Fitness Solution. It gives you everything you need to know and do to get well, stay well, and live well for the rest of your life. And most of all it creates a support system that you can use to keep your foundation of executive wellness firm and strong.

To learn more about the Executive Health Exam come by the Intermountain Intermountain LiVe Well Center at Dixie Regional Medical Center and take a tour of our facility where you’ll meet the caregivers who will conduct your exam and put you on a path to lifetime fitness. Call me at (435) 772-5712. I’ll be happy to send you a detailed brochure, answer any questions and set up a tour at your convenience.